Why is it acceptable for a student to physically harm another student and walk away relatively unpunished save for a scolding and a few days worth of detention, yet punishable by up to 5 years in prison for the assaulted student to carry a weapon in order to prevent further assaults?

If the law system has no intention of either:1.Apply the same punishment of an armed assault to that of an unarmed assault2.Station numerous guards across school grounds. Present at all times

Yes for non-lethal LEGAL self-defense weapons

There are various types of non-lethal self-defense weapons out there that would not only keep the intended victim safe, but will also be very effective against attackers. I'm a 22y/o female and attend college. I don't believe that guns a would be safe to have on campus, but I do think that pepper spray and a tactical pen or mini-taser is enough to keep me from getting sexually assaulted. As for children, say high school age and younger, something more appropriate might be an anti-assault beeper that sets off an extremely loud and shrill alarm if the child is in any kind of danger.

Weapons will save lives!

I have been hit and got in fights before (not in school) and they were not my fault. I am lucky enough to have been training in martial arts for ten years. Most kids don't have the time or money for training. A self defense weapon takes the need for training away.

Weapons will save lives!

I have been hit and got in fights before (not in school) and they were not my fault. I am lucky enough to have been training in martial arts for ten years. Most kids don't have the time or money for training. A self defense weapon takes the need for training away.

Yes, but under certain circumstance.

I believe that students should be allowed to bear one self-defensive weapon as long as the student hand the weapon in at the beginning of the day to their office. Though, we would need more cameras on the streets to keep an eye on the kids just to keep an eye on them.

Let's not be hypocrites.

A 18 year old 6'4", 270-pound high school student is a living weapon. A 15 year old 4'11" 80-pound one is not, Where's the fairness in a fight between these two? Surely, some non-lethal way is needed to equalize the two. Sam Colt was right about the "human equalizer"; but at the school level it can be something other than guns.

Yes, we should.

As a victim of bullying, the only way to get them to stop is to show them they cant make a target of you. Teachers did F**k-all, so i needed to take matters into my own hands. My bully was 10 inches taller than me, around 2.5x my weight so much of my own resistance was futile. To level the field i had to stick razor blades to my knuckles and punch him once. He never bothered me again

Lethal, No, Non Lethal Weapons, YES!

I believe that carrying a weapons that can severely injure or Kill, such as a knife or gun, should not be allowed. But something like a handheld taser or a kid-sized stun stick WOULD be a good idea for kids that are constantly beaten up. The privilege to carry one of these, though, would have to come with a short training course, so that the kids don't accidentally hurt themselves or others. This way, if a bully tries to physically injure a fellow student, and this student has a taser, the student can successfully defend him/herself against the marauder.

Yes, this should be allowed.

Face it, teachers are completely helpless when it comes to bullying. If a child is being bullied, they will most likely blackmail the child to not tell anyone and if the child does tell a teacher, it will result in an after school bullying session. Many kids WALK home from school, or ride their bikes. I strongly believe they should be allowed to bring a weapon in case of psychotic morons out to rape girls or bullies who hunt their victim into a corner right after school. Why should one child be allowed to bring harm to another and the victim should not be allowed to defend themselves? Think about that for a second. Not every child has a happy family, most of them are probably getting abused at home, meaning they have no where to go to talk to about this, teachers are CLEARLY out of the question, and to say that the student should talk to a teacher either way means you're nothing but a blind adult who cannot understand the world simply doesn't work that way - not anymore.

It's easy for you to say that a child can punch back, however, it's 99% likely that the bullied child simply CANNOT fight making him/her an easy target for others to attack. Why strip them of their right to defend themselves? A knife is okay, I agree a child should not have a gun but where the hell is a child going to get one anyways?

NO! Absolutely not!

If a bully punches a kid, and the kid retaliates by knifing him, or god forbid shooting him in the face, that's REALLY BAD! If someone punches you, you can't spin around and kill them. You can only kill someone if you fear that your life is in danger, and if the bully is not going to kill you, (which he probably won't) you cannot kill him. And even if you don't mean to kill a guy, you could severely injure someone with a weapon. Besides if two kids are fighting, and in the heat of the moment, one kid pulls out a gun... Besides, we aren't even TALKING about if a kid pulls out a knife or gun when someone is only verbally abusing him, or worse, if he only THINKS that someone is verbally abusing him. If someone is mad, if because another person called him a name, or something else, depending on the person, if they have a weapon on them, they might pull out that weapon, and a few hurtful words could end up with a dead student.

Students don't have self-control!

No way, José! Use your fists if you're being physically bullied. Chances are that one day, the child will lose it and bring in a knife, gun, or bomb to retaliate. The retaliation has to fit the physical bullying. I don't think anything will be the equivalent unless you use your fists.

Retardation is an issue

Please excuse me, am I hearing correctly?

I myself am a victim of bullying, and know one thing for sure; if victims of bullying are given weapons to retaliate, then the population of children would have plummeted by now. I was bullied last year, and if I had access to weapons it would have gone badly for myself and the bully.Do you seriously think that weapons will help stop bullying? If a case of physical bullying is that bad, you can involve the police! They listen, and its a better way of solving a problem!

Students Shouldn't Carry Weapons

Physical bullying can be a problem for some youth, but by no means would carrying a weapon help the problem. Carrying weapons only gives the bully more to use, because whatever you are carrying could potentially be used against you as well. Carrying weapons would only make matters worse, it would be very unlikely to improve the situation.

No they should not be allowed to.

Children should not be allowed to bear a weapon in any circumstance, especially around other children. Their minds are not fully formed and emotional de scions do not process through them the same was as adults, so by allowing them to carry weapons you would only have more dead kids on your hands.

No they should not.

Students should not be allowed to carry weapons even if it is just as a means as self defense. It can lead to people getting more injured than needed and deaths of children that should not happen in the first place. If there is a bully we need to find other ways to handle it .

No, it would be abused.

No, students should not be allowed to carry weapons as a means of self-defense against physical bullying, because the weapons would likely end up being used for offense. Students have other students, teachers, and security guards available for their defense. Students do not need to have weapons at school, because they would be abused more than they would be helpful.

No, weapons would only increase problems.

Those who are being bullied are often students who don't react or speak up for themselves; that's why bullies feel safe in their actions. So it's not likely that a child who is submissive would even have the confidence to use a weapon properly; it might be taken and used against them. Aside from that, it would be a scary and dangerous place if children went around with weapons. This would only exacerbate problems, not alleviate them, and cause many problems for teachers and principals.